Tom Ingram splashes around a very, very wet Thruxton (Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography)

With a wet weekend at Thruxton, we all knew things were going to be very tricky – but not that bad…

With no Friday testing given that we’d had our Thruxton test day the week prior to Donington Park, we went straight into qualifying. That was the first time I’d driven my JHR Developments Ginetta G55 in the wet, so I was just wanting to get comfortable with the car in the conditions, but at the same time aiming for a quick lap. I ended the session P2, which I was pleased about all things considered.

Race one was dry, which I think surprised everyone! I got off to a reasonable start, but not quite good enough to jump into P1 so I slotted in behind Tom Sharp. I stayed there for the entire race, but had pressure from Carl Breeze most of the way through, and with two laps remaining I had a big slide going into the Club Chicane under braking. That cost me a lot of momentum along the pit straight, and I had to defend from Breeze for the whole of the final lap. I finished the race in P2, which we were happy with but at the same time we knew we had more to find.

We awoke on Sunday morning to find that the majority of the paddock was either under water, blown over or under water and blown over! Overnight there had been some awful weather, and we knew it was going to be staying put all day. Race two of the weekend was really bad, with visibility heavily reduced when you were behind someone, so bad in fact that you had to guess which corner you were at! It wasn’t really too much fun, having to guess where Church was! In the end, though, we just had to ‘man up’ and get on with what we had been dealt. Starting from P2, as in the first race I got a reasonable start and slotted in behind Sharp, but with visibility being that bad I settled into a groove and just battled the conditions instead of battling for the lead as it would have been so risky to attempt a pass. P2 once again, but most importantly with no damage.

Ingram holds aloft the prizes from another successful outing (Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography)

For the final race of the weekend, thankfully the rain eased up meaning driving conditions were much better, and with the reverse grid I was to be starting P3. I was effectively starting in P2, though, as Andrew Richardson was late to the grid, handing me a clear run into Turn One. I took full advantage of that clear run and got a great launch, getting into the lead and holding it until I began to experience a lot of movement from the rear of the car. Initially I thought it was tyres, but as we continued over the space of two laps it went from bad to terrible until coming up to Church, I lost all drive, which wasn’t the most entertaining of circumstances to be in! Unfortunately, that was to be the end of my race. The JHR guys worked their socks off to try and get me back out, but it just wasn’t to be and I pulled off the circuit and parked it up.

So now with a four-week break until Oulton Park, it means we have lots of time to re-prep everything and get it all sorted so that we can go there all guns blazing!

Remember to keep up-to-date with everything by following me on Twitter – TomIngram80 – and to find out more on my website: www.tom-ingram.com

Thanks very much guys, and hope to see loads of you at Oulton!

Supercheap Auto Racing endurance pairing Russell Ingall and Christian Klien Photo credit: Supercheap Auto Racing

Former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien has signed to drive for Supercheap Auto Racing in this year’s V8 Supercars Championship endurance races.

Klien will join 2005 V8 Supercar Champion Russell Ingall in the #66 entry in the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000.

The Austrian co-drove with Paul Dumbrell in the Gold Coast 600 last year and took part in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour GT/production car race finishing ninth overall.

“I am very excited with this opportunity, to be joining Supercheap Auto Racing and Russell Ingall for the biggest V8 Supercar races of the year is an honour,” Klien said.

“After the Gold Coast I was determined to come back and do more V8 races. It is a strong championship with extremely competitive racing, massive crowds and excellent TV coverage throughout the world.

“Mount Panorama is one of the world’s great circuits and the Bathurst 1000 is world-famous – it’s a must-do race in any racing driver’s career.

“To be able to take part in the 50th anniversary Bathurst with one of V8’s heroes is exciting – I can’t wait to get to the mountain in October.”

Klien’s signing comes after he took part in a private test with Walkinshaw Racing at Winton Raceway in April, where he completed over 100 laps in Bathurst-winner Nick Percat’s Dunlop Series Commodore.

“I met with [WR Managing Director] Steve Hallam at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide earlier this year and invited me to test for them, which we did last month,” Klien said.

“The test went very well. After I familiarized myself with the car I worked through a program with the engineers and was able to bring my lap times down.

“Walkinshaw Racing is impressive, it is a very professional racing organization with great resources and personnel – the way the test was structured reminded me very much of Formula One.”

Two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Ingall says he’s very pleased to have Klien on the team.

“Christian is a world class driver who’s reached racing’s pinnacle in Formula 1, so he’s clearly very talented,” Ingall said.

“He’s fast and dedicated. He’s flown to Australia four times in the past six months and raced in the Bathurst 12 Hour so he could prepare himself if an enduro drive did eventuate – that says a lot about his character.

“Bathurst is extremely important to this team, not only is it our sponsor, Supercheap Auto’s race, but this year’s also the 50th anniversary, so it is going to be big.

“The pressure’s going to be on, but Christian’s used to that. He’s the sort of bloke we wanted on our team and I know he’s going to do a great job.”

Klien started 49 Grand Prix, making his F1 debut for Jaguar in 2004. He also drove for Red Bull and Hispania Racing and raced in the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park three times, finishing seventh with Red Bull in 2005. He continues to be involved in F1, working for Williams F1 as its simulator driver, testing setups overnight following Friday practice sessions.

Klien has also been a test driver for the Honda and BMW F1 teams and drove for Peugeot Sport Total in the Le Mans 24 Hour classic, finishing third outright in 2008 with Ricardo Zonta and Franck Montagny. He finished sixth the following year with Pedro Lamy and Nicolas Minassian.

Scott Pye to drive the #30 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport entry alongside Taz Douglas Photo credit: Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport has confirmed Dunlop Series driver Scott Pye will team up with Taz Douglas for the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercars Championship endurance events.

Pye currently sits third in the development series after taking his first pole position, first race win and first podium result with Triple Eight Engineering in the last round at Barbagallo in Perth.

Triple Eight Engineering provide technical assistance and support to Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport and talks between Triple Eight’s Managing Director Roland Dane and Lucas Dumbrell have been ongoing since March to secure the deal.

“We’re excited to have Scott on board,” Dumbrell said.

“We’ve been talking to Roland Dane about this for a while, so it’s nice to finally get the chance to confirm that he’ll be joining us. He’s a great young talent and proven already in the Dunlop Series that he has what it takes to be competitive.

“We’ve had a pretty good start to the year – Symmons Plains being the standout – and are working towards the enduros. The Team iSelect Commodore, with assistance from Triple Eight, has shown that it can run with the leaders, and while our results haven’t been as consistent as perhaps we would have liked, we know we have the pace.”

After competing in the 2010 British Formula Ford Championship and the British Formula 3 Championship last year, Pye is thrilled to have secured a seat in the enduros alongside Douglas.

“I’m excited. To make the enduros in my first year back in the country is fantastic,” said Pye.

“I can’t thank Lucas Dumbrell and Triple Eight enough.

“I’m really looking forward to joining Taz in the enduros. He’s done a brilliant job this year, and he’s been quick.

“I’ve done plenty of miles around Sandown, and in fact won my first Formula Ford race there in 2009, so I’m looking forward to the 500. I’d say Sandown is one of my best tracks, and to go to Bathurst in my first season in the (Bathurst) 1000 is fantastic.

“Earlier in the year I ran the 12 Hour at Bathurst in the HSV Astra and fell in love with the circuit. To run around it in the iSelect Commodore will be brilliant.”

Hawthorns Motorsport's Porsche at the 2011 Britcar season finale at Brands Hatch (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Hawthorns Motorsport – Britcar GT champions in 2008 – are close to returning to the series now known as the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship (BEC)

The team had long run a Porsche 997 prepared by Neil Garner Motorsport but after driver Jan Persson’s semi-retirement during last season co-drivers Rod Barrett and Jay Shepherd initially decided to follow him out of the championship rather than search for a replacement driver.

Now, with Barrett as owner/driver and Diane Barrett as owner/manager Hawthorns Motorsport look ready to combine with Team Holden Racing in fielding a fearsome 6.2 litre TVR Sagaris built by Andy Holden’s team.

“We’re delighted to combine forces with Hawthorns,” enthused Holden. “We’ve all been great friends for years and whilst we’ve talked about doing some racing together for some time, the circumstances have never been right.  We’re now able to combine the endurance experience of Rod, Jay and Jan with an exciting and fast addition to Britcar, in a package which we expect to be very competitive.”

The Holden/Hawthorns combination will create a ‘team of two couples’ with the Holden team being run by Yvonne Holden.

The new car has run without major problems during a development program in AMOC Super GT and the Dutch Supercar Challenge and the team are now ready to set their sights on the challenge of the longer endurance races of the BEC.

“We enjoyed the reliability of the Porsche but running costs in an endurance format were high and Jan’s retirement prompted us to reconsider our approach to racing,” said Rod Barrett. “Having tested the TVR we were immediately impressed at the pace and driveability of the car.  We had some fabulous times in the Tuscan Challenge and it’s great to be back in a TVR again.”

Holden and Barrett are due to be the squad’s two main drivers in a team that will likely be run in close co-operation with the Neil Garner Motorsport squad. Further linking back to Hawthorn’s past entries Jay Shepherd is likely to contest some races as third driver.

The team is to enter a limited number of events in 2012, starting with the next BEC round on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit on June 2.

Manthey Racing's Porsche leads around the Nordshleife (Photo Credit: Porsche AG)

If 24 hours around any track is a challenge then 24 Hours around the Nurburgring Nordschleife – perhaps the most (in)famous race track in the world – must be perhaps the biggest challenge of them all.

BMW’s sole – and surprise – win in 2010 is the only blot on a spotless copybook of wins for Olaf Manthey’s team itself led by the green and yellow Porsche almost synonymous with the team and the modern editions of the 24 Hours, which celebrates its 40^th running this weekend.

Manthey’s two car SP9-GT3 class effort is perhaps the most packed with talent, with a bevvy of Porsche works drivers squeezed in. Mark Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr share the no.11 car, Marco Holzer, Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long sharing the no.10 car with Nick Tandy – one of a handful of drivers pulling double duty, driving in both the 24 Hours and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship which forms part of the support package for the weekend.

Trying to pick a winner from these three manufacturers, let alone a winning crew is all but impossible. Predicting a winner of a ‘normal’ endurance race – a Spa, a Le Mans, a Daytona – is hard enough. Trying to spot a winner on the Nordschleife on the starting grid, let alone the entry list, is pure folly.

 Start to mentally factor in the unpredictable weather of the Eiffel Mountains in which the ‘Ring sits, it’s gargantuan length and – in spite of that – the travails of the top drivers overtaking slower cars on a frighteningly undulating cascade of tarmac that is – in places – just wide enough for two cars. This is a race that will do its best to defy prediction.  

Add in additional entries – dark horses in increasing shades of grey from Team Haribo Racing – a single car effort with a Callaway built Corvette charged to factory drivers Jan Magnussen, Richard Westbrook, and Tommy Milner alongside German GT3 car Daniel Keilwitz – BMW – the Bavarian roundel now represented by the successful GT3 spec Z4 but with those members of Schnitzer run team not on DTM duty spread between several teams. Also running a Z4 are the Marc VDS team. The squad are already victorious this year in the Blancpain Endurance Series and bring a team with three of the regular drivers – Maxime Martin, Markus Paltalla and Bas Leinders to Germany for the weekend. The final marque represented in the SP9 class is McLaren – the sleek MP4-12C an apparent misfit amongst the bigger GT cars around it.

Outside of the top class highlights of the entry include the Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA and a factory supported Aston Martin Zagato – as the manufacturer continues its close association with the event. However, leading the bumper entry – and carrying the no.1 plate for the weekend is the P 4/5 hybrid with a three man driving crew that includes double BTCC champion Fabrizio Giovanardi and Nicola Larini.

Giovanardi who departed the BTCC – for now – after a final flourish at Thruxton at the start of the 2010 season and the British GT drivers are one of a few names that will be familiar to followers of national motorsport in the UK.

Ginetta regular Mike Simpson joins the Italian run Nova Race squad in a GT4 Ginetta G50 while Nathan Freke and Colin White – more familiar names to Ginetta with their British GT and GT Supercup exploits will share a Jaguar XF-S with VW club racer Rob Carvell.

Also making the trip to Germany at Britcar racers Guy Povey, Kevin Clarke and Ian Donaldson who share a BMW M3.

Ahead of all the competitors lie a 90 minutes practice session and an epic four hour night qualifying session on Thursday. A further two hours of qualifying follows on Friday morning before a new for this year top-40 shootout.

The race itself begins at 4:00pm local time (3:00pm UK) on Saturday May 19.

Nick Tandy set the fastet time in both sessions (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The twin practice sessions for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship were largely Porsche dominated affairs as 997 GT3 R topped both of the hours session and all five examples finished the second session inside the top ten.

Nick Tandy set the fastest time in both sessions in the Motorbase Performance run Porsche he shares with Steve Parish. Tandy – who raced in the Porsche World Cup at the Nurburgring 24 Hours meeting last year – set the best time of the opening session (1:43.271) shortly before the mid-point of the hour long session and despite losing two tenths in the middle sector of the Nurburgring Grand Prix track – slightly shortened from its normal length as the configuration missed out the opening complex of corners and sues the faster of two profiles at the NGK chicane.

Another experienced Porsche racer – Richard Westbrook was second fastest (1:43.631). Trackspeed ’s other two Porsches with flying laps from Joe Osborne and Tim Harvey respectively were fourth and fifth fastest with Allan Simonsen in the Rosso Verde Ferrari an interloper in the Porsche party.

Beechdean's Aston Martin Vantage showed sell, taking second fastest in the second session (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photogrpahy)

The Beechdean Aston Martin relied on an early lap – set within the first quarter hour of running – to hold onto sixth place ahead of the entries from United Autosports, MTECH, RJN Motorsport and Scuderia Vittoria in the top ten.

MTECH – with regular drivers Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin – only appeared for the closing moments of the session, completing only a handful of laps before the checkered flag.

They did, however, take full part in the second practice session which started just 15 minutes later. Duncan Cameron took the car for the first part of the session, Griffin’s move into the cockpit signalled when the Ferrari 458 started to move into the upper echelons of the times, peaking at sixth fastest (1:43.986) when he reach the times where the Porsches dominated.

Tandy was fastest again, taking nearly a second off his earlier time with lap of 1:42.311. He was nearly a second quicker than the Beechdean Aston. The team of Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard again relied on an lap early in session – set shortly before the half hour – but this time the marker held up to stay second fastest ahead of Westbrook in the Trackspeed Porsche.

Allan Simonsen was fourth fastest again for Rosso Verde in Hector Lester’s 458 with Harvey – winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB class of the Porsche World Cup race year – enjoying his return to Germany in fifth fastest.

After being the only Porsche team to miss out on the top ten in the opening session Motorbase’s second crew – Michael Caine and Daniel Perfetti – were eighth fastest behind United Autosports’ Audi R8. Joe Osborne was ninth in the third Trackspeed Porsche with RJN’s Nissan GT3 GT-R completing the top ten.

The top GT4 times where shared between Ginetta and Lotus teams. The Lotus Sport UK squad – scaled back to a single car effort for Phil Glew and Sailesh Bolisetti was fastest in the second session, though neither of the top two from the first session set a lap time in competition.

In a new livery - black and gold replacing the red and gold - Lotus Sport UK led the second session in GT4 (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Team WFR, who won both races at Oulton Park with Warren Hughes and Jody Fannin, led the class times for almost all of the first session, initially with an advantage of several seconds before being gradually pegged back.

They were finally deposed from the top spot by the Optimum Motorsport Ginetta of Lee Mowle and Ryan Ratcliffe with three minutes of the session (1:53.085).

Two GT4 teams making their British GT debuts this weekend acquitted themselves well. After engine failure at Oulton APO Sport’s Ginetta G50 completed both sessions without a major problem James May and Alex Osbourne second fastest in the second session.

The Jota Mazda MX-5 also completed both sessions with little issue, closely matching the pace of the more established Ginettas and Lotuses around it to finish the first session fourth fastest, improving to third in the second session.

Of the Continental visitors to the British GT grid for the weekend the Marco Attard and Marcel Liepart Lamborghini was the fastest in both sessions 13^th, then 14^th to start their weekend.

The next track time for the British GT field is the two qualifying sessions starting at 6pm local time (5pm UK time) with the first of the races due off at 4:30pm local time tomorrow (Friday).

Valentino Rossi - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com

Without a wheel being turned, Tuesday marked a significant milestone in MotoGP. Valentino Rossi and Ducati, the match seemingly made in Italian motorsport heaven, have now gone a full year since appearing on a Grand Prix podium. It was also the last time MotoGP visited Le Mans and the Doctor will be praying that a return to France will also kick start a recovery.

In truth, that’s what we were all thinking ahead of Qatar. When was the Ducati/Rossi partnership finally going to bring success? Apart, they have outstanding records with victories and world championships on their CVs but together, a frustrating midfield dogfight has become the norm.

While Valentino was taking the positives from finishing seventh in Portugal, the man whose bike he took possession of was busy winning, as usual. Casey Stoner has now won at every circuit the MotoGP circus goes to and the comparison of his and Rossi’s lap times at Estoril paint a very ugly picture for the Italian contingent.

Rossi, on the quickest of the Ducatis, didn’t match Stoner’s pace at any stage of the Portuguese Grand Prix. It must be pointed out that Stoner had the benefit of clear air for the entire race while Rossi was running in traffic in the early stages but from lap seven onwards, Rossi was over a second behind Alvaro Bautista’s Honda and still couldn’t break into the 1:37s, something Stoner did without fail.

While Estoril saw an improved display from Rossi and Ducati, they still have work to do to catch pacesetters Honda

A new weekend bring a new challenge though and Rossi is optimistic that he and the team will be more competitive at Le Mans. The 33 year old struggled to find a comfortable set-up all weekend at Estoril but seemed to find a solution for the race and will use that as base to start from in Friday practice here. Valentino is hoping for a dry weekend as he tries to understand the GP12 but not even he can control that, and the forecast indicates that he won’t get his wish.

Riders’ Championship (3/18)
1	C.Stoner	66
2	J.Lorenzo	65
3	D.Pedrosa	52
4	C.Crutchlow	37
5	A.Dovizioso	35
6	A.Bautista	29
7	S.Bradl	24
8	N.Hayden	23
9	V.Rossi	22
10	H.Barbera	19
11	B.Spies	18
12	A.Espargaro	9
13	R.de Puniet	6
14	C.Edwards	4
15	D.Petrucci	4
16	M.Pirro	2
17	M.Pasini	2
18	Y.Hernandez	2
19	I.Silva	1

Rain may be the best way of slowing down Casey Stoner at the moment. The World Champion leads this year’s title race after back-to-back wins and has led 90% of all Grand Prix laps so far. Jorge Lorenzo has been right on his tail though and proved in Qatar that anything less than perfection from Casey will place him under pressure. The task for the Yamaha man this weekend is to try and get ahead, and force his rival to do the chasing.

Chasing has been an all-to-familiar task for Dani Pedrosa so far but like Lorenzo, the Spaniard has a perfect podium record so far in 2012, keeping him well in touch in the championship battle. This circuit holds awful memories for him with the collarbone-breaking collision with Marco Simoncelli destroying his title hopes 12 months ago, and Dani will be desperate to stay out of trouble this time.

Rossi and Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden will be hoping to lead the chasing pack this weekend but that honour has gone to the Tech 3 squad in the opening three races. Cal Crutchlow was defeated for the first time by new partner Andrea Dovizioso so the next chapter in that particular rivalry will be fascinating to watch. The Briton is still chasing his first podium as well and will be ready to pounce on any slip-ups ahead. Ben Spies, meanwhile, has been beaten by the satellite Yamahas at all three events on his factory machine and knows that he must respond.

Stefan Bradl hasn’t done an awful lot wrong in his first three MotoGP starts, finishing in the top ten on every occasion, and the German followed Spies home in Portugal. Alvaro Bautista has established himself as the leading satellite Honda runner, something Stefan will want to change, and the Gresini rider will be in the thick of the action again.

Le Mans Circuit - Length: 4.180km - Lap Record: 1:32.647 (D.Pedrosa, 2008)

The fourth race of 2012 sees the first rider change of the season. Despite reports since Estoril, it does not see Shane Byrne replace James Ellison on the Paul Bird CRT bike, with the Penrith squad seemingly performing a U-turn in the last fortnight. The change comes as a result of Colin Edwards’ collarbone injury sustained in the qualifying collision with Randy de Puniet two weeks ago. The injury has seen Forward Racing turn to a former French GP winner in Chris Vermeulen who returns to MotoGP after two years away.

In Moto2, the thrilling championship battle between Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro enters its fourth chapter with the two proving almost inseparable so far. The CatalunyaCaixa Repsol rider took his second win of the year after fending off his compatriot on the final lap and returns to the scene of his maiden Moto2 victory with a nine point lead.

Bradley Smith has had a tough start to 2012 with his Tech 3 Mistral lacking competitiveness but the Briton has scored points at every race so far, and will look to mark his 100^th GP start with a return to the podium. Scott Redding has yet to experience that feeling in the intermediate class but remains on the cusp of breaking through while fellow countryman Gino Rea will see this race as a new beginning as Gresini make the switch from the lacklustre Moriwaki chassis to Suter.

100 not out: Bradley Smith becomes a Grand Prix centurion this weekend

Moto3 heads to France for the first time with Sandro Cortese holding a narrow advantage over Maverick Vinales in the standings. The two fought tooth-and-nail in Portugal with the Spanish teenager far from happy at the conclusion of the race but he has every reason to be cheerful ahead of this weekend. The Blusens Avintia rider announced himself as a future GP star with his sensational 125cc victory last year, beating eventual champion Nicolas Terol in a straight fight, and will begin the weekend as favourite to do so again.

The Monster Energy Grand Prix de France weekend gets underway with Free Practice on Friday morning and The Checkered Flag will have extensive coverage throughout the weekend.

Le Mans Former Winners:

Year	MotoGP	Moto2/250cc	125cc*
2011	Casey Stoner	Marc Marquez	Maverick Vinales
2010	Jorge Lorenzo	Toni Elias	Pol Espargaro
2009	Jorge Lorenzo	Marco Simoncelli	Julian Simon
2008	Valentino Rossi	Alex Debon	Joan Olive
2007	Chris Vermeulen	Jorge Lorenzo	Sergio Gadea
2006	Marco Melandri	Yuki Takahashi	Thomas Luthi
2005	Valentino Rossi	Dani Pedrosa	Thomas Luthi
2004	Sete Gibernau	Dani Pedrosa	Andrea Dovizioso
2003	Sete Gibernau	Toni Elias	Dani Pedrosa
2002	Valentino Rossi	Fonsi Nieto	Lucio Cecchinello
*No Moto3 races have been held at Le Mans

Monisha Kaltenborn will now own a third of the Sauber team

Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn has received a third of the stake in the Sauber Group in what the team describe as ‘the interests of continuity’.

Team principal Peter Sauber, who made the decision to transfer the stake to Kaltenborn, will retain the remaining two thirds.

“When BMW pulled out of Formula One in 2009, Monisha Kaltenborn was instrumental in the team’s survival and since then she has been doing outstanding work in her capacity as CEO,” explained Peter Sauber, who will turn 69 in October.

“Transferring one third of the stake to her represents an important step for me in providing continuity,” added the eponymous team owner. “My desire is to ensure that the company continues to be led as I would want over the long term. Monisha Kaltenborn and my son Alex, who joined the company as Marketing Director in 2010 and has since also been a member of the Board of Management, both embrace this aim. It means we can offer our employees a positive outlook for the future.”

Kaltenborn felt honoured by the decision: “For me this step is a mark of the greatest possible trust, which I will do everything in my power to justify,” she said.

Lola's latest closed coupe prototype debuted at Spa-Francorchamps (Photo Credit: Lola)

Lola Cars has taken a step toward entering administration by issuing Notices of Intent to appoint a administrator for the Cambridgeshire based company. Decisions with potential investors or purchasers continue.

In a statement the company blamed the economic downturn and the decision of HMRC not to pay congaing R&D tax credits for the tough decision.

While, though Lola Composites, the company makes components for the defence, aerospace, communications, renewable energy markets the company remains perhaps best known for its automotive projects.

Once prolific builders of single-seater cars in recent season the firm has been best represented by their closed coupe and open top sportscars, the latest generation of which debuted with Rebellion Racing at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this month, where it helped the Swiss team beat their petrol powered competition and score fifth overall.

Kieran Vernon Will Be Hoping For A Quick Return To The Formula Renault Podium - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Kieran Vernon has confirmed his return to the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship with front-running outfit Hillspeed.

The former Formula Palmer Audi race-winner competed in the first four meetings of the championship last year before his switch to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB series. Despite missing the final four races of the year, Vernon still finished seventh in the championship standings with one win and two other podium finishes.

The West Sussex-based driver was forced to sit out the start of the season with budget problems, but has now signed a deal to complete the remainder of the season with Hillspeed, starting with Rounds Four and Five at Rockingham this weekend.

Vernon told TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk: “The deal came about from a good friend Sebastien King who informed me that Hillspeed were looking for drivers so we got in contact. From that we organised the test at Silverstone, as they needed to get an engine run in after Snetterton. The test went well and we looked at putting a deal together.

“I looked at coming back to BARC is purely because it is one of the most affordable and competitive championships in the UK now, everything else has spiralled in price, and this is probably our only realistic option to get back out on the scene.

“I hope to follow up from last year, bringing Hillspeed up to the front of the grid where they belong, and to achieve podiums and race wins. It will not be easy though; this season looks even more competitive than last season, so it will be tough!”

Michael Epps Is Looking To Push Forward At Rockingham - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Michael Epps is in an upbeat mood heading into Rounds Three and Four of the 2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham this weekend after a productive day of testing at Silverstone last week.

The 20 year old from Hemel Hempstead spent the day at the Northamptonshire circuit working on mechanical set-up and race pace, as he looks to bounce back from an eventful debut weekend in the series at Snetterton.

A crash during the wet qualifying session, Epps’ first experience of driving in the wet, meant he had to start two of the three races from the very back of the grid. Epps showed good resolve to pick up three solid points finishes though and is now looking to push forward and fight with the frontrunners at Rockingham.

Epps said: “The day at Silverstone went really well! I feel more and more comfortable in the car with every lap that I drive. I was pleased with my pace and I’m looking forward to Rockingham.

“We are confident as a team and I seem to be able to run closely to the pace of the more experienced drivers in the championship when it’s dry, so I think we’ll be in the mix next weekend.”

Pastor Maldonado - Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Formula 1  Gran Premio De España Santander 2012: Provisional Race Result

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Points
1	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	66	1:39:09.145	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	66	+3.1 secs	18
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	66	+3.8 secs	15
4	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	66	+14.7 secs	12
5	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	66	+64.6 secs	10
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	66	+67.5 secs	8
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	66	+77.9 secs	6
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	66	+78.1 secs	4
9	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	66	+85.2 secs	2
10	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	65	+1 Lap	1
11	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	65	+1 Lap
12	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	65	+1 Lap
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	65	+1 Lap
14	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	65	+1 Lap
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	65	+1 Lap
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	65	+1 Lap
17	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	65	+1 Lap
18	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	64	+2 Laps
19	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	63	+3 Laps
Ret	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	37	Transmission
Ret	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	35	Driveshaft
Ret	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	22	Mechanical
Ret	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	12	Accident damage
Ret	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	12	Accident

Drivers’ Championship Standings (after Spain, Round 5 of 20)

Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	61
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	61
3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	53
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	49
5	Mark Webber	Red Bull	48
6	Jenson Button	McLaren	45
7	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	41
8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	35
9	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	29
10	Sergio Perez	Sauber	22
11	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	19
12	Paul di Resta	Force India	15
13	Bruno Senna	Williams	14
14	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	4
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	3
16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	2
17	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	2
18	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	2
19	Timo Glock	Marussia	0
20	Charles Pic	Marussia	0
21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	0
22	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	0
23	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	0

Constructors’ Championship Standings (after Spain, Round  5 of 20)

Pos	Team	Points
1	Red Bull	109
2	McLaren	98
3	Lotus	84
4	Ferrari	63
5	Mercedes	43
6	Williams	43
7	Sauber	41
8	Force India	18
9	Toro Rosso	6
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0
12	HRT	0

Gary Mason - Photo Credit: Team Pedercini

Gary Mason thanked Team Pedercini for giving him the opportunity to compete in the Superbike World Championship despite failing to finish either race at Donington Park this weekend. The Briton substituted for David Salom and had to pull out of Sunday’s races with set-up and tyre problems but enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

“In race one I had some trouble with my bike set-up and I decided to return to the garage. I’m disappointed because in race two after a good start I began to have problems with my rear tyre. After a few laps I was unable to ride my bike as I would have liked and I couldn’t continue the race. I want to thank Team Pedercini for the great opportunity they gave me this weekend. It was really a fantastic experience for me to race in the World Superbike Championship.”

As it turned out, the Pedercini squad didn’t get a single Kawasaki ZX-10R to the chequered flag with Leandro Mercado suffering a double DNF too. The Argentinian crashed out of race one before encountering similar issues to Mason in race two and is already turning his attentions to Miller Motorsports Park in a fortnight.

“In race one I got a good start but unfortunately I lost grip on the rear tyre in the second corner and I crashed. I was hoping to re-join the race but the bike had stopped running and so I was unable to restart. In race two there was some contact in the first corner and I was forced to reduce my speed and I lost some positions. Race two was really difficult for me. My bike’s set up didn’t allow me to force my rhythm and I also suffered from a lack of grip on the rear tyre. It was a weekend to forget – I prefer to look forward to Salt Lake City in two weeks’ time.”

Jonathan Rea - Photo Credit: Honda World Superbike Team

Jonathan Rea admitted his victory at Donington Park was taking a little while to sink in after he make a stunning late charge to take the win at the final corner of race two. The Briton fell away from the leading group with a mistake eight laps from the finish but forced his way past the BMWs at McLean’s on the last lap to claim maximum points.

Rea had already taken fourth in race one and paid tribute to his Honda crew for giving him the equipment to challenge at the front.

“It’s nice to win and, in that second race, everybody wanted to win so bad. It was a crazy race and I made it hard work because I dropped off the group again in the middle stage and then, when I caught the group, I made a big mistake and ran wide at the last corner. To catch up with five laps to go and make up some places and then cap it off with the win was unbelievable. I was quite happy with the fourth in race one as well – the guys gave me a great bike and Chris [Pike – crew chief] and his team were on it all weekend. It’s nice to come here and get a good result because it’s never happened in the past with Superbike. I got on the podium in Supersport but this is nice for the British fans and there were quite a lot of guys out there. On the slowing-down lap everyone was clapping and it’s nice to have a British winner at a British round.”

Despite having ridden at Donington before, teammate Hiroshi Aoyama couldn’t improve on his poor early season form, finishing seventeenth and tenth in the two races, and the Japanese rider didn’t feel he found the set-up he was looking for until it was too late.

“It was a race track that I know and I was expecting a little bit more result. The first day we started in a good way but on the second day we could not improve in qualifying so we were 17^th and missed Superpole. This was a little bit disappointing but for the race we tried to improve the set-up. Somehow, in the first race, we went in the wrong direction, so I was fighting but could not make it. In the second race, we went to the opposite set-up and it seems like this was positive and I could fight for tenth position. Also, as a team, Johnny won the race, so it was not so bad a weekend. Of course I want to be better but I have never ridden at Miller so I have to learn the racetrack but I am thinking positive.”

Jon Lancaster during the Malaysian GP2 weekend (Photo Credit: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Times have been quite hard since my last instalment in Maylaysia, we were hoping to be out in Bahrain but due to delayed circumstances with potential sponsors, it has been very difficult to settle sponsorship issues in such a short space of time between races. This left me with the only option of being present in at the circuit for two weeks but unable to control my fate.

The importance of major sponsorship backing in a series as prestigious as GP2 is vitally important if you are to progress in this series, but plans are currently being put in place with a consortium of backers to allow me to get back out on track for Monaco in two weeks time.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Ocean Racing Technology for their continued support and efforts to find sponsorship to get me back in the car for the rest of the season, but it just goes to show, that even if the talent is there in this business, money still talks if I want to achieve my ambition of lining up on the Formula One grid in the future.

Off the track, I am still training very hard to keep myself in line with the physical demands of a GP2 car, so when the opportunity arises for me to go racing I will be in the best possible condition to perform in the car when needed.

Carlos Checa - Photo Credit: Althea Racing

Carlos Checa is looking forward to reviving his championship defence at Miller Motorsports Park after falling 23 points off the pace with a crash at Donington Park. The Spaniard only managed sixth in race one before becoming involved in an accident with Eugene Laverty and Jakub Smrz at Redgate at the start of race two and admitted he couldn’t do anything to prevent the crash.

“After the result of race 1, which wasn’t bad, I thought I’d be able to do more in the second. I tried to start strong and found a good position but when I got to the apex I saw Laverty in front of me and he braked suddenly, maybe there was a rider in front of him I don’t know. I did everything I could to brake, to stop the bike, but there were riders all around me and I couldn’t avoid a fall. My leg is a bit sore and a little swollen but I’m ok. I need a couple of days to get over this result and then I’ll start preparing for Miller.”

Althea Racing teammate Davide Giugliano also lost out in the incident having taken to the grass in avoidance, preventing him from building on the seventh place he achieved in race one. The Italian was delighted with his pace over the weekend though which fills him with optimism for Miller in two weeks.

“It’s a shame because the day had started out fairly positively. We had seen in race 1 that we had a strong pace and we were certain that we could do better in the second. I started race 2 convinced that I could be up there with the top four but unfortunately what happened at the first corner penalized me too. We have however demonstrated that we have good pace and now we go on to America, a track that I don’t know, to see what we can do there.”

Jimmie Johnson won over the Lady In Black (Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jimmie Johnson sealed Hendrick Motorsports’ 200^th win with a composed drive at Darlington Raceway, After several near misses, not least when Johnson and Jeff Gordon looked set to finish 1-2 at Martinsville in April before a mistimed lunge by Clint Bowyer took both out, the Hendrick team finally reached its landmark milestone, having been stuck on 199 since Johnson’s last win at Kansas last year. 

“I didn’t think it was ever going to happen,” said team-owner Rick Hendrick. “I thought we were going to haul those [200th-win commemorative] hats around forever!”

Johnson, who scored all of his 56 wins and 5 championships with the team, held his nerve on the final restart, following a spin for a beleaguered Kurt Busch, and was able to get a clean getaway, while just like at Richmond, Tony Stewart struggled to get up to speed, allowing Denny Hamlin past into second.  Behind them, Kyle Busch finished a strong fourth and Martin Truex Jr. bounced back from his wreck at Talladega to finish fifth.   

“We’ve been awfully close to getting the 200^th win for the last month or two and I’m very happy that we closed the deal today,” said Johnson, who led a race-high total of 134 laps. “My mind goes back to the early days of Hendrick Motorsports, the people that won those early races, worked on those early cars, and helped Rick build Hendrick Motorsports to what it is today.”

Since Geoff Bodine got the ball rolling at Martinsville in 1984, 14 different drivers have logged victories with the Hendrick organisation, including the late Tim Richmond, Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte, as well as current NASCAR stars Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr.  The latter had a disappointing day, finishing down in 17^th after recovering from a lap down in the early running, but his day didn’t hold a candle to that of Jeff Gordon, Hendrick’s winningest driver with 85 wins in 18 years.

If it wasn’t for bad luck then Gordon would surely have none at all, as he twice suffered left rear punctures, a record Lewis Hamilton’s calamitous pit-crew would be proud of.  His 35^th place was the fourth sub-30^th place finish of the season, and marks his worst ever start to a season.  Despite showing strong pace everywhere, Gordon has been hamstrung by an engine failure at Daytona, a puncture-induced crash at Bristol, a pit-lane penalty in California, contact with Bowyer at Martinsville while in contention for victory, more engine maladies in Kansas, another cut tyre at Richmond and ‘the big one’ at Talladega last week. 

“I said this a couple of weeks ago – bad luck is when you run over something that no one else can find and you cut a tire. We did that twice tonight,” said Gordon, who has tumbled to 24th in points. “I don’t know. I am baffled. All the good things that happened to us all these years to win races are biting us right now. But we know it can’t last forever.

“It’s almost comical. Tonight? My goodness, to run over something, possibly the same thing, and cut two left-rear tires back to back, you’re baffled by it. It’s not a fun thing, I can tell you that.”

After a catastrophic 2011, things have picked up for Denny Hamlin in 2012.  Although he is yet to win in the Nationwide Series, having thrown away comfortable victories at Richmond and at Darlington Friday night, Hamlin has already picked up two wins in Cup with his new crew chief Darian Grubb, who made the right strategy call again here.  When everyone else pitted under caution on lap 199, Grubb made the call for the Joe Gibbs Racing no.11 to stay out and gain track position, a move which paid off handsomely when a third caution waved for debris on lap 230, allowing him to get back in sequence with the leaders’ pit-stop cycle.  Although he didn’t have the car to win, second was still a fine achievement.

“I didn’t have quite the car we needed to win today, but second isn’t bad,” Hamlin said. “Our finish is because of the crew chief [Grubb] making good calls and the pit crew making good pit stops. It kept us in the ball game and kept us with track position up front.”

A battling performance from Tony Stewart was one of the race’s highlights.  Under caution with 85 laps to go, Smoke’s clutch failed and he had to be bump-started by his crew.  Having dropped to the tail end of the lead lap, Stewart took the opportunity to pit again just before the green-flag fell, which allowed him to stay out and gain track position when the rest were forced to pit.  However with the tank running dry in the closing stages, the no.14 began to suffer from fuel-pickup issues which hampered his charge, leaving him powerless to resist the attentions of Hamlin on the last restart. 

“You know, considering the hurdles of the day, I’m pretty happy with a third-place run,” Stewart confessed. “That’s why we won a championship last year: we never give up.”

Boxed in behind Stewart on the last restart, Kyle Busch was unable to gain any ground and was forced to settle for fourth, ahead of Truex.  Behind him were the Roush-Fenway duo of Matt Kenseth in sixth and Carl Edwards seventh, a result which sees the 2011 runner-up climb into the top-10 in points.

“We pitted for four tires there at the end and got back to seventh, but I think it was still the right move,” Edwards said. “It was a hard-fought day. I raced hard with Matt there at the end and almost wrecked us both, so I’m glad I didn’t, but it was pretty fun.”

The third member of the premier Ford team Greg Biffle sat on the pole and led 74 laps, but a loose-handling car dropped the point leader down to 12^th at the finish. His third finish outside the top-10 this year means his gap to second-placed Kenseth has now been reduced to just two points. The main beneficiary of Biffle’s woes was Richard Petty Motorsports’ Australian superstar Marcos Ambrose, who pulled off an audacious 3-wide pass on the restart which leapfrogged him up to a brilliant ninth.

“I came from Mars!” Ambrose joked later. “I re-entered orbit around lap 260 and the last 80 laps was a lot of fun.  We were two laps down and just fought our way back.”

Rounding out the top-10 was the third Joe Gibbs Toyota of Joey Logano, whose victory in the Nationwide Series on Friday was his second in a row and his third of a break-through season for the 21-year old.

“[It was] pretty awesome – I was surprised,” Logano said. “We’re doing a good job. We worked our way all the way up to fourth and thought, ‘Man we’re doing good,’ but, man, I suck on restarts. I can’t get going on restarts and that’s where I lose so many spots.”

After the dizzy heights of Talladega, Kurt Busch was brought back to earth with a bump, literally, at Darlington, as he was involved in a post-race fracas with Ryan Newman which saw both pit-crews get involved. 

“We’re looking at everything we can and trying to get everything lined up,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president for competition, with penalties expected this weekend. 

Meanwhile the hype surrounding Danica Patrick continued, as the Go Daddy girl drove a tidy race in only her second Sprint Cup start, finishing 6 laps down in an uneventful 31^st.

“She ran good lap times,” her team-owner Stewart said. “There was a period in the race when she set her balances at her best – they said she was within a tenth of the leaders at that point in the race. So I’m really, really proud of her.”

The Mosler crew took a second win of the year, beating the white Rapier (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Spectators at Snetterton were robbed of a grandstand finish to a turbulent – strategy dominated – Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship when a mysterious technical problem forced the Class Two Motionsport Ferrari 458 into a late, and unnecessary, pitstop.

The race in all the four classes of the BEC had been moulded by the five safety car periods during the previous two and a half hours. Teams up and down the pitlane had reacted to the different neutral periods differently.

The Neil Garner Motorsport team of Paul White, Manuel Cintrano and Javier Morcillo has pitted under the very first safety car, called out after just a half dozen laps as the MacG Racing Ultima needed retrieving after another early retirement. The stop, Morcillo told The Checkered Flag at the end of the race was a deliberate move to put the thirsty MT900R within range of the finish with a minimum of stops.

Despite a four second stop-go penalty for that early stop not meeting the minimum time the Mosler remained on the very end of the lead lap, a second safety car helping to keep them in contention. The second safety car was brought out by the Team Tiger Marcos Mantis of Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore – already delayed by a stuck throttle and snapped fan belt – stopped on the outside of Hamilton.

Under Britcar rules only a single churn of fuel – 25 litres – can be added during a stop under a safety car and while some opted to take the opportunity to fill up under the safety car other concentrated more on getting the 50 litres available during a green flag pitstop.

Such a tactic was employed by three of the front runners – the Stark Racing and Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55s and the SB Race Engineering Ferrari started by Andy Schulz, all three of which pitted shortly after the second safety car period, giving the lead to the flat-six.co.uk Rapier SR2 of Mike Millard and Ian Heward who had pitted under the second yellow flag.

With such limitations on fuelling Motionsport found the middle ground – stopping twice under the second safety car gave them the 50 litres of fuel without the time lost while the rest of the pack streamed around the 300 circuit.

Two churns of fuel – and a new driver – Simon Phillips replacing Pete Storey – went in during the second safety car, with the return driver change – and two more batches of Sunoco fuel went in under a fourth safety car after the Class Four Lotus Elise of Michael Caine and Steve Guglielmi fell to broken front left wishbone shortly after their first pitstop of the race just after half distance pulled them out of third place overall.

Simon Phillips and Pete Storey starred in the Ferrari 458, but a mysterious problem ended their chances of an unlikely win (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The validity of Motionsport’s strategy was proven when Storey briefly led overall when Topcats Racing team boss Warren Gilbert, sharing driving duties with wife Charlotte in the squad’s no.34 Marcos for the weekend, pitted just before half way. However, the stranded Lotus called out the safety car and Motionsport’s blue suited pit crew swung into action again for another matching pair of fuel stops and for Storey to get back into the car.

It was only with a final safety car – and the demise of the Schulz and Paul Bailey Ferrari with gearbox problems – that the strategy unwound itself to reveal the tortoise and hare finale.

After a final stop for the Rapier Storey in the Class Two Ferrari emerged into commanding lead thanks to the team’s efficient strategy, but behind a trio of Class One cars – Javier Morcillo driving the anchor stint in the Mosler ahead of the Optimum Ginetta and the Rapier – were closing in fast.

Three, four or five seconds a lap were peeled from Storey’s lead, Morcillo closing in at a pace that would have brought the two cars together in the closing laps.

However, Storey and Ferrari were called into the pits for a final, costly, stop due to a problem, the same problem limiting his pace in the closing laps as he slipped to third behind the Track Torque Chevron of Nick Jarvis and Tommy Field.

Nick Jarvis and Tommy Field were the beneficiaries of smart strategy in third overall (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The duo had used the safety cars perfectly, making both their stops during the three hour race under the cover of yellow flags to win Class Three by a full laps from the Bullrun Lotus Evora and take a shock third place overall behind the Class One Mosler and Rapier teams as While, Cintrano and Morcillo scored their second win of the season.

“Had we not have had this weird problem that we’ve never seen before we would have been spot on,” lamented Motionsport man Phillips after the celebrations. “The tactics that we planned worked absolutely perfectly which is how we were at the top. Had we not of had the problem with the car we wouldn’t have had to do another fuel stop. Basically in the fuelling some sort of sensor’s gone down we think so we could have run right to the end which mean we would have gone toe to toe with the Mosler on the last lap so we could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.”

 The third Class One car in the late chasing pack – the pole-sitting Optimum Motorsport Ginetta of George Murrells and Lee Mowle had to pit late on to fix an alternator belt that dropped them seven laps off the lead, though they still collected championship points for third in Class One.

Fourth place – though disappointing for the pair of drivers – was enough for Phillips and Storey to win Class Two ahead of the two Topcats cars, Owen O’Neill and Neil Huggins ahead of the Gilbert pairing, though both cars struggled with a misfire throughout the race.

Clarke and Gibson won Class Four, Strata21's white Porsche suffered late in the race (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Intersport Racing’s Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson won Class Four in their BMW M3, a lap ahead of Ben Gower and Gary Coulson in the Motionsport Elise. Jensen Lunn and Mark Steward completed the class podium after the Strata21 Porsche of David Pittard, Adam Sharpe and Tom Jones suffered a broken driveshaft late on.

The Williams Garage Was Gutted By A Huge Fire After The Spanish Grand Prix

One member of the Williams F1 team remains in hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the fire the team’s pit garage following the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday (May 13).

In an official statement the team confirmed that the man had has suffered burns, but was in a stable condition in hospital and is expected to be returned to the UK within the next 48 hours, where he will continue to receive medical treatment.

Two other team members who were hospitalised with smoke inhalation have already returned home after receiving treatment.

“I was pleased to welcome back to the factory the majority of our team this morning,” said Sir Frank Williams. “One of our people remains in Spain for further medical assistance, but we are all looking forward to his imminent return.”

“Everyone at Williams F1 is extremely relieved that this event was contained as quickly as it was and the damage which occurred was, relatively speaking, limited in its nature. While the incident was unexpected and definitely most undesirable, it has demonstrated the genuine cohesiveness, camaraderie and spirit of co-operation that exists within the Formula One paddock. The astonishing response from the teams and other paddock personnel was immediate, unconditional and overwhelming.”

Investigations into the cause of the fire are still on going.

2011 Silverstone Classic race action (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

After a record breaking 2011 event this year’s Silverstone Classic powered by the AA is set to once more be a huge event in the British motorsport year, the three day event bringing together packed grids of cars representing the last 60 years of several racing disciplines including Touring cars, F1 and Group C sportscars.

In 2011 more than 1,000 racing cars took part in the on track action and the 2012 edition will feature a full program of 24 races, several already boasting capacity 58 cars grids several months before the weekend (July 20-22).

The program brings together the best of the action from last year with new races set to wow the crowds that squeeze into the Silverstone circuit for the weekend.

After being part of the celebration of the car’s 50^th anniversary last year – which included a 767 car parade around the Grand Prix track – certified as a world record – the E-Type Challenge will return for a second year. Likewise the Historic Formula Junior drivers return for another year after providing one of the highlights of last year’s event. In the two races for the cars last year Sam Wilson and John Milicevic battled all race, finally being split by just a fraction of a second as Silverstone Classic hosted one of the finest weekends for one of the closest rivalries in all of British club racing in 2011.   

Another of the seemingly endless highlights from the weekend were the evocative Group C endurance racers. Given prime billing as the last race on the Saturday as dusk descended spectators were given the chance to see the cars – Silk Cut liveried Jaguars, silver Sauber Mercedes and ex-works Nissans included – lights ablaze around the Silverstone Grand Prix track in a race that provided some of the most striking pictures from the entire weekend.

After starring last year, the Group C sportscars will once more race into into the Saturday evening sunset (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

In 2012 those scenes will be repeated as the Group C cars return and are once more given the dusk slot on Saturday night, just before the nights entertainment – live music just another feather to Silverstone Classic’s already fully fledged bow.

New for this year are races from Touring cars from the 70s, 80s and 90s representing the British European and German championships and the Peter Gethin Memorial Trophy for historic Formula Two and F5000 cars. The Touring Car race ties into one of many anniversary celebrations taking place at Silverstone Classic.

After the record breaking number of E-Types present in 2011 several classic sportscars celebrate their own milestones in 2012.

Classic British cars – the Lotus Elan, Triumph Spitfire and MGB celebrate their half centuries (Silverstone Classic chosen by the MGB50 Committee as one of just three official events during 2012). In its 25th year an unprecedented number of Ferrari F40s are expected to be on display with the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 sharing the same silver anniversary as the famed Maranello machine.

The RS500 – which terrorized Touring Cars in the late 80s and early 90s – epitomized the Group A regulations of the time taking overall race wins and championships across the world. Several examples are due to be part of a bumper grid of Touring Cars representing the later decades of the twentieth century with several on hand at the Silverstone Classic media launch including the ex-Tim Harvey Labatt’s Cosworth, Steve Soper’s BTCC BMW M3 and the Team Dynamics Nissan Primera driven by now triple champion Matt Neal during the 1990s.

BMW M3 E30 will mix with the contemporary Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 in a pair of Touring Car races (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The race of Formula Two and F5000 cars – named in honour of F1 race winner and F5000 champion Peter Gethin, who passed away last year – will unite some of the ‘giant killing’ single-seaters of the 1960s and 70s.

“It’s just a lovely occasion and actually an absolute privilege to see and meet other drivers racing cars from that era and who want to carry on that spirit,” said Peter’s son Nick of the race named in father’s honour. “The race will be a very emotional occasion for many people. My father would have been proud as punch and touched greatly that so many of his contemporaries thought so highly of him.” 

Another feature on track is the return of the Celebrity Challenge race, with racers including Sir Patrick Stewart and Brendan Cole already confirmed.

Off track more than 120 car clubs present thousands of cars from the historic to the exotic around the Silverstone infield, the festivities this year including the UK’s first ever ‘Z-Fest’ celebrating BMWs race of roadsters.

The AA – new event sponsors for 2012 – plan to lay on ‘AA World’ around the Stowe Complex. The attraction is set to include a range of free driving experiences, including hot laps around the Stowe Circuit in some of today’s most desirable cars. For the younger generations electric vehicles – and the chance to get their first experience behind the wheel of a real car – feature outside with an FI simulator, pitstop challenge and giant Scalextric track set up inside.

After the day’s activity ends the evening’s activity begins with live music on the stage, this year including Adam Ant, Mike and the Mechanics and supergroup Snakecharmer.

For more information on the event, including the chance to buy tickets, go to www.silverstoneclassic.com.

The Large 2012 Formula Renault BARC Grid Is Set To Get Even Bigger For Rockingham - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

After a superb opening weekend at Snetterton in early April, the 2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship is back in action this weekend for Rounds Four and Five at Rockingham.

The championship kicked off in Norfolk six weeks ago, with the triple header producing three different race winners in a close-fought opening meeting, the driver’s having to cope with treacherous wet conditions throughout the weekend.

Seb Morris took one of the race wins after dominating qualifying around the 300 circuit, the reigning Ginetta Junior Champion taking pole position for each of the three encounters. Despite it being his debut in the series, the Fortec Motorsport star still left Snetterton frustrated with only being able to convert one of them into a win, and is looking to add to his tally at Rockingham.

Morris said: “We had a lot of firsts at Snetterton – my first pole positions in a single-seater, my first races in a Formula Renault in the wet, and my first win in the championship. It didn’t all go according to plan though.

“Obviously qualifying was great but I made a few mistakes in the races and without those I should have been leading the championship. Our expectations are high for Rockingham and we’ll try and do our best. We’ve been strong each time we’ve tested at Rockingham so there’s no reason we shouldn’t be again next weekend.”

Another Formula Renault BARC debutant at Snetterton was reigning Formula Ford GB champion Scott Malvern. The Ilford-based driver performed well on his ‘slicks and wings’ racing debut, taking two podiums, including a maiden win, despite no pre-season testing.

Leading the championship after a superb weekend at his local track was Josh Webster. The 2011 vice-champion secured a late deal to return to the championship and instantly showed his class, with one win and two other trips to the podium meaning he left Snetterton with a fourteen point championship lead.

Webster commented: “Everything was so rushed for Snetterton, it was touch and go whether we’d be on the grid at all and the MGR guys had to get the car built in just a couple of days so it was pretty manic.  To achieve what we did, with no testing and only a base set-up, was fantastic and all credit to the hard work of the team.

“We’re all really looking forward to Rockingham now and feeling pretty confident. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and, now we’ve had a chance to properly work on the car, show what we’re really capable of and try and increase the championship lead.”

Webster led the way on an impressive Snetterton weekend for MGR Motorsport. Second year racer David Wagner took three top six finishes, including a maiden podium, while also making a first trip to the podium in the final race was his rookie team-mate Jake Dalton. James Fletcher also took some strong results, with a best finish of fifth, and all four MGR drivers will be looking to continue their good starts at Rockingham.

Other driver’s impressing on the opening weekend were Scorpio Motorsport’s Macaulay Walsh, who took a maiden podium in the opening race, American Trent Hindman, who took fourth place in his first race with Cliff Dempsey Racing, and Fortec Motorsport’s Diego Menchaca and SWB Motorsport’s Jack Dex, who both took three top ten finishes apiece on a consistent opening weekend.

An outstanding twenty-five cars made it to the grid for Snetterton and all will return at Rockingham, with the potential there for up to five additional cars. Mtech Lite have confirmed two new recruits to boost their entry to four, with Lebonese racers Joe Ghanem and Shahan Sarkissian joining the team. Ghanem returns to UK racing after spells in Formula Renault UK and British Formula 3 in the past, while Sarkissian is set to make his motorsport debut.

RPD Motorsport are hoping to make their return to the grid with Ovie Iroro, Hillspeed are working hard to finalise a deal to have a third driver on the grid and privateer Max Robinson could also be back out in Renault BARC if he can raise the budget, meaning there could be a phenomenal thirty cars on the grid at Rockingham this weekend.

The second race at Donington saw some thrilling action - Photo Credit: Honda World Superbike Team

2012 eni Superbike World Championship

Riders Championship Standings (After Round 5 – Donington Park)

Pos	Rider	Bike	Team	Wins	Pts
1	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team	1	128.5
2	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team	1	123.5
3	Jonathan Rea	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team	2	108
4	Carlos Checa	Ducati	Althea Racing	3	105.5
5	Marco Melandri	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	1	97.5
6	Leon Haslam	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport		89
7	Sylvain Guintoli	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert	1	85
8	Eugene Laverty	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team		65
9	Davide Giugliano	Ducati	Althea Racing		50
10	Jakub Smrz	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert		44.5
11	Michel Fabrizio	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet		35
12	Leon Camier	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki		34.5
13	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team		30.5
14	Maxime Berger	Ducati	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing		29.5
15	Ayrton Badovini	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet		29
16	Niccolo Canepa	Ducati	Red Devils Roma		25
17	Lorenzo Zanetti	Ducati	PATA Racing		25
18	Joan Lascorz	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team		17
19	Chaz Davies	Aprilia	ParkinGO MTC Racing		17
20	Leandro Mercado	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini		9
21	David Salom	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini		9
22	Loris Baz	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team		8
23	John Hopkins	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki		8
24	Peter Hickman	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki		7
25	Bryan Staring	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini		6
26	Mark Aitchison	BMW	Grillini Progea Superbike Team		3
27	Josh Brookes	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki		1

Jonathan Rea - Photo Credit: Honda World Superbike Team

2012 eni Superbike World Championship

Round 5 – Donington Park (Race Two Result: 23 Laps)

Pos	Rider	Bike	Team	Time/Gap
1	Jonathan Rea	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team	34:31.817
2	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team	+0.508
3	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team	+2.029
4	Leon Camier	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki	+4.245
5	Sylvain Guintoli	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert	+6.595
6	Ayrton Badovini	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	+17.469
7	Chaz Davies	Aprilia	ParkinGO MTC Racing	+17.788
8	Loris Baz	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team	+21.093
9	Peter Hickman	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki	+21.866
10	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team	+22.620
11	Niccolo Canepa	Ducati	Red Devils Roma	+26.764
12	Lorenzo Zanetti	Ducati	PATA Racing	+27.043
13	Michel Fabrizio	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	+28.390
14	Mark Aitchison	BMW	Grillini Progea Superbike Team	+56.618
15	Leon Haslam	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	+1:20.196
Not Classified
	Marco Melandri	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	+1 Lap
	Leandro Mercado	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini	+4 Laps
	Gary Mason	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini	+9 Laps
	Maxime Berger	Ducati	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing	+11 Laps
	Davide Giugliano	Ducati	Althea Racing	+12 Laps
	Eugene Laverty	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team	+13 Laps
	Carlos Checa	Ducati	Althea Racing	+23 Laps
	Jakub Smrz	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert	+23 Laps

Jonathan Rea - Photo Credit: Honda World Superbike Team

Jonathan Rea claimed a dramatic victory in the second race of the day at Donington Park despite starting the final lap in fourth place. The five way fight for the lead went all the way down to the last corner when a clash between Rea and Leon Haslam decided it in the Ulsterman’s favour.

There was also drama at the very first corner when Jakub Smrz ran into the back of Eugene Laverty’s Aprilia. Laverty continued but Smrz slid into Carlos Checa, knocking them both out of the race while Davide Giugliano was forced to take to the grass in avoidance. Ahead of the chaos, Max Biaggi dived past Tom Sykes for the lead but the Kawasaki rider was back in front by the time they left the Old Hairpin.

The front two were joined out in front by the BMWs of Haslam and Marco Melandri with Rea also in touch but Sykes wouldn’t be overhauled until lap 19 of 23. It wasn’t Biaggi who overhauled him, but Haslam who muscled his way through at Goddards, bringing Melandri through with him. Although Melandri briefly led his teammate after passing at Redgate, Haslam had the edge at the start of the final lap when the drama really began.

Melandri, having had to fend off Biaggi earlier in the lap, dived up the inside of Haslam at the Melbourne Loop but left his braking far too late, allowing the Briton to sneak back through on the exit. Metres behind, Rea capitalised on the mayhem and sneaked past Biaggi for third. Just the Goddards hairpin remained and Melandri tried again but just like his earlier attempt, he overshot the apex. The optimistic move dragged Haslam wide and Rea took an opportunistic dive up the inside. Haslam tried to close the door but only succeeded in making contact with the Honda, unseating him and sending him into the helpless Melandri.

Rea stayed upright and took his second win of the season ahead of Biaggi who emerged from the frantic final lap in second place with Sykes taking the final podium position. Leon Camier finished an excellent fourth for Crescent Fixi Suzuki ahead of Sylvain Guintoli and Ayrton Badovini while Chaz Davies claimed his best result in World Superbikes with seventh.

Rookies Loris Baz and Peter Hickman were eighth and ninth respectively as both impressed on substitute appearances while Hiroshi Aoyama rounded out the top ten. Leon Haslam pushed his BMW over the line in fifteenth to salvage a point but Gary Mason and Eugene Laverty failed to finish, the latter having crashed at the Craner Curves.

Marco Melandri - Photo Credit: WorldSBK.com

2012 eni Superbike World Championship

Round 5 – Donington Park (Race One Result: 23 Laps)

Pos	Rider	Bike	Team	Time/Gap
1	Marco Melandri	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	34:26.736
2	Leon Haslam	BMW	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	+0.728
3	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team	+1.609
4	Jonathan Rea	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team	+1.819
5	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team	+2.102
6	Carlos Checa	Ducati	Althea Racing	+4.820
7	Davide Giugliano	Ducati	Althea Racing	+7.520
8	Sylvain Guintoli	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert	+7.927
9	Leon Camier	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki	+15.144
10	Michel Fabrizio	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	+16.065
11	Ayrton Badovini	BMW	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	+19.805
12	Chaz Davies	Aprilia	ParkinGO MTC Racing	+20.170
13	Maxime Berger	Ducati	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing	+21.274
14	Jakub Smrz	Ducati	Liberty Racing Team Effenbert	+21.517
15	Eugene Laverty	Aprilia	Aprilia Racing Team	+26.920
16	Loris Baz	Kawasaki	Kawasaki Racing Team	+35.025
17	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	Honda World Superbike Team	+39.193
18	Lorenzo Zanetti	Ducati	PATA Racing	+42.334
19	Niccolo Canepa	Ducati	Red Devils Roma	+43.554
Not Classified
	Peter Hickman	Suzuki	Crescent Fixi Suzuki	+2 Laps
	Mark Aitchison	BMW	Grillini Progea Superbike Team	+8 Laps
	Leandro Mercado	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini	+9 Laps
	Gary Mason	Kawasaki	Team Pedercini	+23 Laps

Marco Melandri - Photo Credit: WorldSBK.com

Marco Melandri gave BMW their first World Superbike victory after escaping a four man leading group in the closing stages. Leon Haslam, Tom Sykes and Max Biaggi also harboured hopes of winning the opening race of the day but the Italian was stronger at the end, allowing to break his team’s victory drought.

Haslam hoped that he would earn that honour and signalled his intentions from the start, storming around the outside of polesitter Tom Sykes at Redgate. The local favourite held the advantage until the end of lap four when he outbraked himself into Goddards, allowing Sykes back through. Melandri and Biaggi were right on their tail and the leading quartet left Carlos Checa behind as the reigning champion struggled for pace.

At half distance, Haslam regained the lead at the Fogarty Esses while Melandri seized third from Biaggi. The BMWs were coming on strong and Marco moved into second two laps later by outbraking Sykes into the Melbourne Loop. The German manufacturer looked on course for their breakthrough win but the honour of clinching it still had to be decided between its riders.

Melandri tried on consecutive laps to grab the lead at Redgate, only to see his teammate sneak back through but with five laps to go, the 29 year old made it stick. His cause was helped by a mistake from Haslam later in the lap as the Briton ran through the gravel at the Esses, giving Melandri a comfortable cushion.

Haslam was now forced to fight his way past Sykes and he eventually regained second at the Melbourne Loop two laps from home. Biaggi was still in the mix but a resurgent Jonathan Rea was also hot on their heels and a mistake at McLean’s on the final lap opened the door for the Ulsterman to snatch fourth, with the championship leader demoted to fifth.

Checa finished a subdued sixth ahead of Althea teammate Davide Giugliano while Sylvain Guintoli, Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio completed the top ten. Chaz Davies scored points in twelfth but debutants Peter Hickman and Gary Mason couldn’t do likewise with both failing to finish.

The Williams Garage Was Gutted By A Huge Fire After The Spanish Grand Prix

Williams’ victory celebrations in Spain have been marred by a huge fire in their garage at the Circuit De Catalunya.

Around an hour and a half after Pastor Maldonado crossed the line for the team’s first win since 2004, an explosion in the team’s garage started a large fire, which engulfed the front and the rear of the pit garages in thick black smoke.

Williams team personnel and members of other teams in the pitlane raced to put out the flames, with the fire stopped soon after. It’s currently unclear as to what started the fire, though it’s believed it started from an electrical problem near the fuel area of the garage.

The explosion came whilst Sir Frank Williams was giving a speech to the team in the garage, with everyone quickly evacuated from the garage and then from the pitlane soon after, the scene getting taken over by the local police and fire crews.

Four members of the Williams team, four members of the Caterham team and one Force India mechanic were taken to the medical centre after the incident.  A statement from the Caterham team said that three were suffering with respiratory issues and one with a minor hand injury, while Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer told Sky Sports that their colleague suffered smoke inhalation.

Smoke Covered The Pitlane After The Fire

Maldonado on the way to his maiden win - Photo credit: LAT / Williams

A sensational drive from Pastor Maldonado has seen him hold off local hero Fernando Alonso to win the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the fifth different winner in the opening five grand prix’s of this intriguing 2012 season.

The win was the perfect result for Williams, who were celebrating Sir Frank Williams’ 70^th birthday over the weekend, with Maldonado’s success being the team’s first win since Juan Pablo Montoya triumphed in Brazil in 2004.

Maldonado benefitted from Lewis Hamilton’s penalty to start the race from pole position, however despite a good getaway; the fast-starting Alonso squeezed his way past to lead into the first corner. Alonso led the way through the first phase of the race, however Maldonado stayed in touch after the first round of pitstops.

Maldonado pitted first in the second round of stops and benefitted from Alonso getting caught behind the backmarker Charles Pic to take the lead when Alonso pitted. Despite a slight problem in his final pitstop, Maldonado stayed in front heading into the final stages. Alonso got close and challenged a couple of times using the DRS, setting the race up for a grandstand finish.

However when Alonso’s tyres started to fall off with six laps to go, Maldonado was able to edge away and cross the line three seconds clear to become the first ever Venezuelan grand prix winner. The result caps off a remarkable comeback for the Williams team, who were only able to pick up five championship points in the whole of the 2011 campaign.

It wasn’t all plain-sailing for the team however, with team-mate Bruno Senna retiring from the race after an accident with Michael Schumacher on lap thirteen, the German running into the rear of Senna at the first corner.

Ferrari’s Alonso ended the race under pressure a hard-charging Kimi Raikkonen, but Alonso held him off to take second, his second podium of the season, and with it a share of the championship lead.

For Raikkonen, the race proved to be frustrating, with the Finn hoping to be challenging for the win. Left to rue an early tyre strategy gamble, Raikkonen did show his race-winning pace in the closing stages, ending up just 0.6s adrift of Alonso at the flag, but it was too little too late for him. Raikkonen was followed home by team-mate Romain Grosjean, who ran a lonely fourth throughout the race.

A surprise fifth was the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi, the Japanese star producing some of his trademark overtaking moves on his way to a seasons best finish, making up for a disappointing retirement for team-mate Sergio Perez, who had to pull off after a mix-up during one of his pitstops.

Sixth after a dramatic race was championship leader Sebastian Vettel. The reigning champion ran seventh early on, but was given a drive-through penalty after failing to slow for yellow flags after the Schumacher accident, before having to make an impromptu pit-stop to change a faulty front wing. The Red Bull man overcame this to storm past Jenson Button, Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the final seven laps to take a top six finish.

Rosberg ran fourth ahead of Grosjean early on, but dropped back as the race progressed, ending up seventh on a disappointing day for Mercedes. The McLaren’s of Hamilton and Button were next up, with a superb drive from Hamilton seeing him rise from 24^th on the grid to take eighth, the Brit pulling off a great double move on the Torro Rosso’s en route. A low key race for Button saw him only able to gain one place from his starting position to take ninth.

Nico Hulkenberg picked up a championship point in tenth after holding off Mark Webber in the final stages. Hulkenberg’s Force India team-mate Paul Di Resta had ran in the top ten for large periods of the race, however the Brit fell back in the latter stages, with Hulkenberg benefitting to take his second points finish of the season.

Like his Red Bull team-mate Vettel, Webber was forced to pit to replace a problematic front wing during the race and this left the Australian frustrated in eleventh. Another driver having a race to forget was Felipe Massa, the Ferrari star ending up fifteenth out of the nineteen finishers after recieving a drive through penalty in similar circumstances to Vettel.

Provisional FIA Formula One World Championship Standings (After Rd. 5):

1 = Sebastian Vettel – 61 points

1= Fernando Alonso – 61 points

3. Lewis Hamilton – 53 points

4. Kimi Raikkonen – 49 points

5. Mark Webber – 48 points

6.  Jenson Button – 45 points

7. Nico Rosberg – 41 points

8. Romain Grosjean – 35 points

9. Pastor Maldonado – 29 points

10. Sergio Perez – 22 points

Razia's victory closes the gap slightly to points leader Valsecchi - Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/GP2 Media Service

Luiz Razia led from start to finish in the GP2 Series sprint race at Barcelona to pick up his second win of the season.

The Arden International driver made a good getaway from pole position to retain the lead, while fellow front-row starter Max Chilton bogged down off the line. That saw Nathanael Berthon and Davide Valsecchi move up into second and third.

Berthon stayed close to Razia through the first half of the race, but the Brazilian pulled away later on and took the checkered flag with a winning margin of five seconds.

James Calado and his Lotus GP teammate Esteban Gutierrez had a great opening lap, swapping places with each other while also overtaking others including feature race winner Giedo van der Garde to move into fifth and sixth. Calado got by Chilton on lap five.

In the closing stages he closed up to Valsecchi, with both reeling Berthon in. The positions remained the same but the trio crossed the line separated by just 1.3 seconds.

After his good start Gutierrez lost three positions to van der Garde, Felipe Nasr and Stefano Coletti. Nasr dropped back behind Coletti and Gutierrez midway through the race, with Gutierrez then getting back past Coletti before crossing the line half a second behind van der Garde.

Coletti took the final point in eighth just ahead of Nasr, with Fabrizio Crestani completing the top ten. Johnny Cecotto had been in tenth until losing three spots in the final half a dozen laps to Crestani, Tom Dillmann and Fabio Leimer, with Leimer taking Dilmann for 11^th at the chicane at the end of the last lap.

Rodolfo Gonzalez, Rio Haryanto, Josef Kral and Julian Leal were next up, with third-place starter Fabio Onidi coming home 18^th after first making a poor start and slipping back to 11^th and then spinning at turn 12 when he was running side-by-side with Cecotto. He spun across the nose of Nigel Melker, causing the Dutchman to pit for a new front wing and finish 24^th and last.

Stephane Richelmi and Simon Trummer finished just behind Onidi, with GP2 debutant Victor Guerin 21^st after serving a drive-through penalty for a jump start. Marcus Ericsson was another to be penalised, this time for ignoring yellow flags. After running 11^th, the Swede came home 22^nd, with Ricardo Texieira and Melker finishing behind him.

Giancarlo Serenelli started from pitlane and posted the fastest lap on lap two, only to then drop it into the gravel trap and turn four on the following lap. Jolyon Palmer came to a halt on the formation lap, seemingly with a reoccurrence of the mechanical gremlins that have plagued his season so far. That necessitated an aborted start while his car was recovered.

Conor Daly - Photo Credit: Alastair Staley/GP3 Media Service

Conor Daly scored his first race victory in the GP3 Series in the second race at the season-opening weekend, after the race leader was penalised for a jump start just as on Saturday.

It was Tio Ellinas who moved into the lead at the start from second on the grid ahead of third-place starter Daly and polesitter Robert Visoiu. Ellinas was found guilty of jumping the start however, handing Daly the lead when he served a drive-through penalty.

From there Lotus GP driver Daly never looked back, the American crossing the finish line with a 3.2 second advantage over Visoiu. His father and former F1 driver Derek was there to watch him on the top step of the podium.

Visoiu’s second place was an impressive end to a good debut weekend in GP3, the 16-year-old Romanian only in his second year of car racing. Finn Matias Laine completed the podium.

Laine’s MW Arden teammate David Fumanelli had been pushing him hard for that third place, but was penalised for ignoring yellow flags. Aaro Vainio inherited fourth and crossed the line just behind compatriot Laine and ahead of Patric Niederhauser.

Daniel Abt and Antonio Felix da Costa had both lost the lead of Saturday’s race for jump starts, but both made good progress from 13^th and 14^th on the grid. They were running seventh and eighth when Felix da Costa made a last-gasp move under braking at turn ten, the pair banging wheels but the Carlin driver getting through. The pair crossed the line sixth and seventh after Fumanelli was relegated.

Alex Brundle made it a double-points-scoring debut weekend in GP3 as he took eighth, after applying pressure to Abt in the closing stages and finishing just four tenths behind.

William Buller and Kevin Ceccon had started the race on the penultimate row of the grid after both stopping during Saturday’s race. Despite having cooked their tyres the two battled fiercely during the latter half of the race, with Buller defending brilliantly to keep hold of ninth.

Alice Powell finished a difficult first weekend in GP3 with a fine 11^th place finish having started behind Buller and Ceccon in 25^th place.

Her Status Grand Prix teammate Kotaro Sakurai finished 12^th, getting by Fabiano Machado at turn one with the Brazilian spinning off in the process. John Wartique and Jakub Klasterka were next up ahead of a recovering Ellinas, Vicky Piria and the penalised Fumanelli.

Ethan Ringel was 18^th, ahead of Saturday’s second-place finisher Marlon Stockinger who had problems at the start. Yesterday’s winner Mitch Evans suffered a puncture early on that dropped him to the back, finishing ahead of Carmen Jorda.

A turn one incident saw Tamas Pal Kiss, Dmitry Suranovich, Robert Cregan and Antonio Spavone eliminated.